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Mechanical pencils.

Paper Mate= = = = = Early in the 1940's a man named Patrick J. Frawley acquired his first company which was a ballpoint pen parts manufacturer. In 1949 the Frawley pen company developed a revolutionary new ink, which dried instantly upon use. The pen that delivered this ink was called 'The Paper Mate' which is where the name came from. Paper Mate manufacture ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, felt tip pens and erasers which all come in a wide variety of colours and shapes. In 2010, Paper Mate introduced environmentally friendly biodegradable pens, pens and erasers as additions to the range. Their range of products can be found in many high street stores such as Ryman, WHSmith, Staples and other stationery shops.

The Product= = = = = =The product I am reviewing is the Paper Mate Non-Stop Mechanical Pencil. The pencils come in a range of different colours and pack sizes. The pencil is about the length of a standard pen or pencil and it does have the push top that you normally have to press down in order to get the lead out. On the top of this pencil is white rubber which can be used to erase any mistakes. I purchased a pack of see through mixed coloured pencils which included pink, yellow, red and orange. The barrels to the pencil are made from plastic and are see through and you can see that the lead is spring loaded to reduce lead breakage. This is a fantastic idea as I often find the lead can break very easily. At the bottom of the pencil where the lead comes out is the black point. This needs to be turned in order for the lead to come out so you can use it. You can choose the length of the lead and you simply twist it one way to push down the lead or the other way which pushes it back into the barrel. I purchased these pencils after buying some cheap WHSmith mechanical pencils, in which the leads kept breaking. It doesn't state anywhere on the packaging on the website whether they are refillable or not so I presume they aren't.

Price/Availability= = = = = = = =I purchased a pack of 10 pencils from my local WHSmith store for approximately £5.19 which I didn't think was too bad. You may also be able to purchase these online from shops such as Amazon.

Using the Pencil= = = = = = = =I turned the plastic nib at the end of the pencil in order to push some of the lead out. I then held the pencil and began writing with it. As the barrel of the pencil was round it was comfortable to hold in between my fingers and the barrel was really smooth. I didn't want to apply to much pressure on the lead as I didn't want it to break. The rubber on the top of the pencil is really good and erases the pencil really well unlike some erasers which tend to smudge the pencil more than it erases it. The most time I use the pencil for is approximately 30mins and the pencil is comfortable to hold even after this amount of time. I only use the pencil a few times a week, so a pack of these lasts me a good year, if not longer. These are far more comfortable to hold and use than other mechanical pencils I have purchased in the past. These are also good quality and although the barrel is made from plastic it feels quite strong.

Overall Opinion= = = = = = =These are the best quality mechanical pencils I have used due to the strength and quality of not only the lead but the pencil itself as well. The clip which is on the side of the pencil is a little flimsy and would probably break quite easily; how-ever I don't use this so it wouldn't bother me anyway even if it did break off. I like that the pack includes a range of brightly, different coloured pencils. The eraser on the top of the pencil is also of good quality and it a brilliant idea as it means I don't have to purchase separate erasers to use with the pencil. There is also no need to purchase a sharpener either (which I often loose). I found the pencil comfortable to hold and very easy to use. In terms of value I think the pencils are of reasonable value and would definitely consider purchasing these again, rather than spending money on a stores own brand of mechanical pencils. Whether you pencils for the home, office, school, college or anything else, these are perfect.

(review may also appear on ciao)

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A cheap and efficient non stop pencil

I am a fan of propelling pencils always making sure I have one on my desk. Work provides us with Papermate non stop pencils, I always refer to them as propelling pencils, sometimes the solid coloured orange ones as above or sometimes the transparent fluorescent variety. I guess it depends on the mood of the secretary ordering them!

I think the major plus about propelling pencils is they do not need sharpening, therefore they are perfect for taking to meetings. One can't really sit in a meeting sharpening a pencil over the desk, plus it's a bit messy! They are sophisticated pencils.

I like the Papermate propelling pencils as they are simple and cheap. In bulk on Amazon you can get around 12 for £5, about 42p per pencil. I guess work buys them in even bigger bulk so gets them even more cheaply. I think they are really good value and therefore of I loose the odd one its not an issue. I do have a Parker propelling pencil for use at home, but I would be upset if I lost this one.

Propelling pencils are also excellent for putting in bags. The lead in the Papermate non stop pencils can be twisted up and down by the nib so when I put the pencil in my bag I make sure the led is all inside the pencil so it doesn't catch or write on other things.

The lead in this Papermate pencil is about 0.7mm thick, so too thick to snap easily, unless wound out too much. I like the fact that the thickness of a writing from a propelling pencil doesn't alter that much when the lead wears down, where as with an ordinary pencil the lead become blunt and thick when it needs sharpening and sharp and scratchy when it's just been sharpened.

All in all I would not be without my Papermate non stop pencils when at work. One pencil does last a really long time, probably longer than an ordinary pencil as non of the lead is wasted as it is sharpened. These pencils are a good buy and for me an office essential.

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Good buy and I shall be coming back for more

I used to get so frustrated when my pencils kept becoming blunt and hard to use after only a few minutes of intensive scribbling and I had to sharpen them repeatedly- such a tedious waste of time. A simple solution was using a mechanical pencil so that I never had to go near a sharpener ever again. However, I found that most mechanical pencils I tried were hard and uncomfortable to use, with the leads being rather hard to refill- rather more trouble than they were worth.

So when I came across these Papermate Non Stop Pencils a couple of years ago, I was overjoyed. Pencils you could actually twist instead of having to push and pump down the lead, with non stop lead too? These seemed like easily the best option I could possibly choose. I have tried some of the pens made by Papermate, and I have been fairly pleased with them so I was not too concerned about whether or not the quality would be adequate.

Obviously, these are not the cheapest option- buying normal stick pencils and a sturdy sharpener could save you quite a bit of money. Even in mechanical pencil terms, these are quite expensive, since some stores will sell you something like a pack of ten, leads included for £1. You can buy either the clear plastic coloured ones or the yellow barrel ones. Though I have used both, I find myself most often using the clear plastic coloured ones, as they just look more aesthetically pleasing to me. I buy most of my stationery from Amazon since it is generally cheaper for me. At the moment, a twelve pack of the yellow barrel variety costs £5.06 (original price: £5.92), making it less than 50p a pencil. That is not too bad at all, especially since each pencil can last for ages and ages.

How do these pencils work? Well, it is quite simple and easy to figure out, really. You twist the body around the nib structure one way to push it up and the other way to push it down. It is very simple to use and much easier to use than those mechanical pencils you have to pump up. I tend to twist the lead back down after use to protect it from damage. The pencils look quite nice- if you get the clear ones instead of the yellow barrel type, you can see inside with the mechanism working. That way, you can see it being pushed up and also how much lead you have left.

It also comes with a small rubber on the end which is really handy since when you are writing or drawing with the pencil you do not have to bother with bringing a big rubber. The rubber itself is rather good quality, and rubs out the pencil quite well though if used too often it can wear away and leave you with nothing but a little unusable rubber stub.

The lead is good quality, much better than most the mechanical pencil leads that I have used before. It does not snap too easily unless put under too much unnatural pressure, but generally I have found it lasts for a long time. It has the right kind of softness so that you can write comfortably without labouring at all too much.

It is near impossible to shade properly with these pencils, but that is alright, since these are not meant to be sketching pencils. The tip remains rather sharp throughout its rather long life (a few months a pencil, I should think, unless you write solely with this pencil) so you will never need to write with a blunt pencil again!

Another positive to this product is that the pencil always stays the same length. Since it is the lead and the lead only that is being twisted up, the body of the Papermate Non Stop Pencil does not get sharpened away as it would be if it was a regular pencil. This means that even when you reach near the end of the lead, you still have a full size pencil instead of a tiny stub. It kind of feels like you are writing with a pen, only it has lead inside it, instead of ink.

Altogether, I think that these Papermate pencils are worth every single penny paid for them since they have been so useful to me. They have also saved me a lot of time, when I would normally be sharpening my pencil! These have a good design that has been beneficial to me, so I would highly recommend them. I would give these pencils 5 out of 5 dooyoo stars.

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A worthwhile product from my experience, although i understand it wont be to all tastes.

The Papermate non stop automatic pencil is a product I have used for as long as I care to remember. I began using non stop automatic pencils back in school, and have used them regularly ever since. The first pencils I owned had a rubber on the end which once pressed revealed more lead. The Papermate version has a twist-action nib. The black nib which you can see in the picture turns clockwise and anti-clockwise to allow you to control the length of lead at the end of the pencil. This nib is textured allowing for easy and accurate control and also comfort to the user.

Priced at around £5 for a dozen pencils you are getting pretty decent value for money from this product in my opinion. With no need for a pencil sharpener you really are benefitting from the ease of use this product gives you. The shaft of the pencil is made from brightly coloured plastic, with an integrated rubber at one end and the twist-action nib and lead at the other end. Refills can be bought for automatic pencils, with 24 replacements costing around the £2-£3 mark. Obviously it makes sense to buy refills as opposed to new pencils as cost is very favourable in doing so.

With such a wide range of colours available this product is a great way of adding personality to your stationary drawer. I think it would be wrong to compare such a product with a standard pencil, but the papermate non stop automatic pencil would certainly compare favourably if doing so. I am confident in giving a recommendation of this product, and the consistent thickness of the lead is a major plus point for myself.

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I prefer to use these for writing over normal pencils

These Paper Mate non-stop pencils are great to use at work or for when writing with a pencil rather than a pen. You can buy them either individually or in a pack and they come in all different bright neon colours including pink, orange, yellow and green.

There is a very thin strip of lead inside the outer plastic case and to use it all you have to do is twist the black tip at the bottom of the pencil and the lead comes out. When you're finished using the pencil, you just twist it the other way to make the lead go back inside the case to protect it from getting broken. There's also a handy little rubber on the top of the pencil for any mistakes that are made.

Because the lead is so thin and never gets blunt it means that it creates a very neat and thin writing style so I always use these at work or when writing with a pencil. It also means that you never have to use a sharpener which is always a great thing.

The only negative thing about these is that the lead is incredibly thin which means that it is very easy to break it. Only a very small part needs to be outside the case to use it otherwise it will just snap off if it has been twisted out too far or if pressed down too hard. I think women and young children are better off using these as men are probably too hard-handed and will cause them to snap all the time by pressing too hard.

I love these clever little pencils as they never require sharpening and they always produce a very neat and thin writing style, which makes them perfect for using at work or for general writing.

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A good mechanical pencil that does it's job

I have to admit that I do prefer the good old fashioned pencil, however at work I have to write figures in pencil and I have to write them as small as possible. With a normal pencil it can be difficult to write small unless you sharpen the pencil every few minutes. So to try and solve the problem I thought I would give a mechanical pencil a go. We had quite a few different ones in our stationary cupboard but I decided on using a Paper Mate Non Stop Mechanical pencil. We buy most of our stationary from Staples and usually in bulk, for a pack of ten it costs £4.69.

The pencil looks like any normal mechanical pencil this one is an orange/yellow colour and is about the same size as an average pencil but is more rounded in shape and smooth.

With this being mechanical the lead is very thin at 0.7mm so is perfect for my work, I was surprised that the lead is quite durable as I had visions of it snapping every time I tried to write. Although if you apply too much pressure it will obviously snap but I wouldn't say that you had to use less pressure than your average pencil.

It is very easy to produce more lead you simply twist the black section near the nib and then you are set. An eraser is at the top of the pencil which of course is very handy. It saves me scratching around in my drawer looking for one! The only thing I have found with this pencil is that if you are in the flow of writing something the lead runs down quite quickly and you then have to break off your writing to twist out more lead. Unlike a pencil which lasts quite a while before it needs to be sharpened. Due to the way I can write smaller and a little more neatly with it I would say it's only a small problem.

A very handy pencil which can be kept in a bag as you can always withdraw the lead to protect it just by twisting.